


sunset yesterday

by shsl_hajimedics



Series: after the contract [1]
Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, I could change the ratings if you want to, M/M, Probably t for mild swearing??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:35:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14634243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shsl_hajimedics/pseuds/shsl_hajimedics
Summary: As if the pain they had to bear and the stress they are going through isn't enough, they has to feel the angony of someone losing the person they loved.





	sunset yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> hhh this is the cheesiest thing i have ever written
> 
> now I'm tired af lo  
> anyways enjoy!! This is my first time writting angst so critique will be highly appreciated :0

The casino is a fucking wreck now.

All of this happened because of those two _bratty_ boys who stepped their feet inside the casino. If only they didn't stumble inside carelessly, show off their gambling skills, and make a bet with The Devil, none of this would happen. It would be better if they made the bet and actually won, because it would be way better to get a different boss than have your entire body feel like they're smashed and crumpled like a piece of paper...

...and also feel the agony of your other friends.

Wheezy can only feel silence as he wakes up from exhaustion.

He coughs because of the dust that manages to find its way to his throat. Wheezy brushes the dust off his vest, before standing up to make an attempt to the messy casino.

What Wheezy sees is still the same. It's still the usual casino where he worked, but there's something that makes him feel that it's not. Perhaps, it's because of the broken glasses and dust surrounding the air. Even Wheezy, who has smoked for years, can't breath the dirty air properly without coughing.

Wheezy is ready to call out for one of his friends when he hears someone aproaching him from behind. He turns around to see who is it.

It's Pirouletta.

"Is everyone okay?" She asks, hoping that the answer is yes. Though, Wheezy doesn't answer, as he is unsure of their condition. He can only shrug sadly. Pirouletta gives him a sympathetic look.

For a while, Wheezy tries to avoid talking to Pirouletta and just stares at a certain person with a purple coat lying on the floor. At first, he isn't sure because of the blurry image. But then, Wheezy's eyes widens as he realizes who he is.

Pirouletta sees this, and asks him again.

"What do you see?"

"Boss. He's unconscious." He replies flatly. The woman flinches at the tone, because Wheezy isn't the type of person to talk like that.

Without thinking, Wheezy walks and approaches the man lying. He looms over him, then shakes his body softly. Wheezy becomes a bit anxious at the lack of response, but then sighs after he sees Pirouletta coming over to help him out.

Before she can do anything, Dice wakes up suddenly. The two casino workers let out a breath of relief as he tries to sit on the sandy floor.

"Boss! I'm glad you're alive." Pirouletta says, expecting some sort of reply from Dice.

Dice doesn't answer. Instead, he just stares at the floor silently, trying to process what just happened. All he remembers before falling unconscious is the sound of his cracked arm and the _horrible_ insult he had heard from his boss.

He tries his best to not look weak in front of his co-workers, even though Wheezy and Pirouletta knows what he feels.

The two of them go over to the others, obviously helping them to wake up, or, to the ones who just wake up, helping them stand up. Dice joins not long after. He thinks this will help him wash away the sad thoughts.

"Finally. Thank goodness those cups doesn't do anything too bad to all of you." Wheezy says to the confused workers as he helps Hopus stand up, "Is everyone alright?"

"I-I suppose so," Mangosteen groans, "those kids really kicked our asses there."

"They probably do something crazy after handing those contracts. Not surprising." Dice adds, receiving nods from them. He moves his sight to the entrance of The Devil's throne.

And then a heating and stressed conversation started.

As it progresses, Wheezy suddenly feels something is wrong here. Very wrong. He feels something is missing, and he tries to think what is it.

He furrows his eyebrows and racks his brain. There is no comforting response, no light chuckle, and no hints of an accent when someone is talking. Usually Chips Bettigan is the one to speak first in awkward times like this.

"Wait." Wheezy says, grabbing everyone's, even Dice's, attention.

"Where the fuck is Bettigan?"

And then the silence comes again.

"W-we probably forget about him for a minute!" Pip exclaims nervously, breaking the silence. "He must be around here."

Again, Pirouletta senses the fearful and stressed tone in Wheezy's voice.

He ignores the half-hearted answer from the domino piece. Instead, he keeps locking his eyes to a pile of blue and yellow, narrowing his eyes. After god knows how long, he suddenly runs towards it without any kind of warning.

_Shitshitshit. Please do not be Bettigan. Please do not be Bettigan. Please._

All the casino workers can see is a man standing still in front of something they don't know because it's blocked by his figure.

Not long after, Dice and Pirouletta run to catch up to Wheezy, only to found him looking straight at a broken body lying.

It took them a second to process who is it.

Wheezy falls to his knees weakly.

It's Chips Bettigan. And he isn't even looking like Chips Bettigan with his broken head and body.

"Fuck. T-this can't be happening." Wheezy says to no one. His voice is trembling, there's no usual He touches his shoulder gently, only to be met with something that felt like some kind of crack.

Without hesitation, he takes off his hand from the shoulder. 

Wheezy strechs out his aching arms and pulls Chips into an embrace. He just hugs him silently, while burying his face to Chips' back. Wheezy can still feel the heat on his body, even though he looks like he doesn't have one, and also the cracks on his body. 

Pirouletta just puts her hand on Wheezy's shoulder comfortingly.

Dice only looks down, showing a form of empathy towards the poor man. He can't do anything else to help Wheezy. Dice clenches his fist in anger.

Those cups took everything away from him and his co-worker.

Wheezy hopes Chips can return the hug back, but he doesn't.

And everyone else who come to see what was going on, can't believe their eyes. The scene of a stubborn, strong man, who always feels like he could do anything, is hugging someone.

Wheezy doesn't want to let go of the hug, even though he knows that no matter how long he does this, there will be no response from the latter.

"Wheezy, I'm.." Pirouletta tries to come up with words clouded with bitter thoughts on her mind, "..I'm so sorry."

And that's when it hit.

Wheezy doesn't even realize he's crying until he feels something wet and salty dripping down his cheeks. That's the first time he cried in years. He isn't _that_ easy to cry, even when something really bad happens to him. But this time, it doesn't happen to him, and instead it happens to Chips Bettigan, his lover. And that's why he cries.

Chip's body is made of poker chips. They are unbelieveably fragile. A strong force can literally break them, as if the force from _their_ finger guns isn't even strong enough to do so. This is what makes him too easy to be defeated, and Wheezy has just realizes this.

Back when he laid his eyes towards two short porcelain cups coming inside the casino, he thought they are just some lost kids that don't know where they had stepped their feet on. But then, gambling happened. And betting. And then they lost.

Wheezy felt that something bad will occur the next day, but he didn't even know that's it's _this_ bad. All his friends are defeated, and Dice looks like he doesn't know if the patrons are coming back after all this.

Worst of all, he lost the person that matters to him.

Wheezy tries not to show his face, even though his friends know that he is crying from the occasional twitching shoulders and trembling from his body. He doesn't care if they notices this.

Those fucking kids had taken everything from them.

"Chips, I'm so stupid.. I can't even protect you." That is all Wheezy can say - or mutter - between his silent sobs. "Please forgive me."

The source of his laughs, the reason he feels not-so-shitty everytime he works, and the person he truly loved is gone. He knows this, and it hurts. It feels like a burning hole inside his chest. It hurts.

Wheezy tightens his grip around Chips' body.

Mangosteen averts his gaze from the two of them.

Dot is crying now. Pip is trying his best to comfort her.

Nobody else has the energy left to say anything else.

_"Please fucking stay with me. I beg you."_

Then, a certain boy with a blue straw comes through the open door.

**Author's Note:**

> contact me at https://hajimedics.tumblr.com
> 
> hey i think i'm about to cry while writting this down


End file.
